Activision Blizzard has released its full year financial report for 2012, recording revenue of $4.8bn thanks to Call of Duty, Diablo, and Skylanders.

For the past quarter, ending on December 31st of last year, net revenue was a record $1.77bn – up from 2011's net revenue of $1.41bn during the same period.

Of the company's earnings for 2012, the digital sector represented 32 per cent of total revenue at a record $1.54bn. The figure exceeded the company's initial forecasted outlook of $1.4bn.

"We are very pleased to report that Activision Blizzard delivered the best performance in its history," CEO Bobby Kotick said. "With better-than expected net revenues, record operating margins and record earnings, and over $1.3bn in operating cash flow, we continue to set the industry success bar."

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg also revealed that the Skylanders franchise has earned over $1bn in revenue since launching at the end of 2011, with the financial report adding that Call of Duty and Skylanders franchises were the number one and three best-selling franchises across North America and Europe last year.

Diablo III chipped in 12m copies since its launch as well. Combined, the three titles provided “extensive growth” throughout the year for the company.

On top of all that, Hirshberg announced that the next Call of Duty will arrive during Q4 2013. The company expects the game to perform under the record performance of Black Ops II.

"For Call of Duty, consistent with our past practices, we are planning for the mainline release in Q4 to be down versus 2012," Hirshberg said. "For 2013 on the Activision Publishing side, there is increased volatility this year due to the ongoing console transition, which makes predicting the future more challenging than in normal years in the cycle.”

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